On Tuesday, Indonesia faced off against China in a fiery matchup. They held on to win an important 1-0 Asian Football Confederation Group C qualifier at home for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The game was played in Japan and was Indonesia’s last group stage match. This win not only kept Indonesia’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup alive but dashed China’s aspirations of making it to the tournament.
The pivotal point of the game arrived right before half-time thanks to a glorious run from space himself, Ole Romeny, who earned a penalty for Indonesia. The spot kick was given following Yang Zexiang’s foul on Ricky Kambuaya inside the area, causing the referee to point to the spot. Romney’s had a few near misses in the past. One shot went just wide, and another was caught by China’s goalie, Wang Dalei. He did score when it really counted the most, putting Indonesia up for good.
It was Kambuaya who finally got Indonesia’s first clear sight of goal, a powerful effort from distance just over the crossbar. Even with this early opportunity, it was China’s Wang Yudong who lit the match for the team. Then, at only 18 years of age, he earned his very first international call-up. Facing considerable backlash from the Indonesian establishment, he bravely tried to redirect a counter-attack campaign to the flanks. China’s attack proved to be uninspired as they were simply not able to take advantage of their chances.
It was a win that sparked a jubilation across Indonesia. It moved them two steps away from qualifying for the World Cup for only the second time in history. The outcome would leave China out of contention, highlighting the cutthroat competition that characterized the qualifiers.
